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CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT ERIK C. THOMPSON

Chief Master Sergeant Erik C. Thompson is the Command Chief Master Sergeant, 19th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. 19th Air Force is responsible for all aspects of aviation training for officer and enlisted Airmen including introductory flying training, undergraduate, mission qualification, upgrade and specialized training, and advanced combat crew training. 19th Air Force trains more than 32,000 U.S. and allied students annually, ultimately providing fully qualified aircrew personnel to warfighting commanders. The command is composed of more than 30,000 Total Force personnel and 1,350 aircraft assigned to 17 wings located across the United States. Chief Thompson is a key advisor to the Commander and senior staff on all aspects of employment, training, readiness, resilience, and development of the enlisted force.

Chief Thompson entered the Air Force from Fort Pierce, Florida in June, 1993. He began his career as a Helicopter Maintenance Specialist and retrained as a Flight Engineer (Performance Qualified) in 1997. His previous assignments include functional and leadership positions at the squadron, group, wing, Numbered Air Force and Major Air Command level. Chief Thompson has deployed in support of numerous contingencies including Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, JOINT FORGE, ALLIED FORCE, DESERT FOX, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and INHERENT RESOLVE. Chief Thompson is a Chief Enlisted Aircrew Member with more than 3,600 hours in C-130E and MC-130H aircraft, including 1,100 hours of combat and combat support time.

Prior to assuming this current position, he served as the Command Chief, 27th Special Operations Wing, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

EDUCATION

1998 Airman Leadership School, Little Rock AFB, AR

2005 Noncommissioned Officer’s Academy, Tyndall AFB, FL

2005 Associates Degree in Aviation Operations, Community College of the Air Force

2006 Bachelors of Business Administration Management (summa cum laude), American International University

2009 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell AFB, AL

2011 USSOCOM Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy, MacDill AFB, FL

2015 USSOCOM Summit Leadership Course, MacDill AFB, FL

2015 USAF Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

2016 USSOCOM Combined/Joint SOF Component Commander’s Course, MacDill AFB, FL

2016 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Maxwell AFB, AL

2016 USAF Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Alan Freed Associates, Washington DC

2017 Keystone Fellow, National Defense University, Washington DC

2017 Continuous Process Improvement, Institute for Defense and Business, Chapel Hill, NC

2018 USAF Transnational Affairs Seminar, Alan Freed Associates, Washington DC

ASSIGNMENTS

Dec 1993-Oct 1997, Helicopter Maintenance Craftsman, 66th Rescue Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV

Oct 1997-May 2000, Sq Resource Advisor, Instructor Flight Engineer, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, AR

May 2000-Nov 2001, C-130E Evaluator Flight Engineer, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, AR

Nov 2001-Nov 2003, MC-130H Flight Engineer, 15 SOS, Hurlburt Fld, FL

Nov 2003-Jul 2005, Instructor Flight Engineer, NCOIC Sq Plans, 15 SOS, Hurlburt Fld, FL

Jul 2005-Jul 2007, Evaluator Flight Engineer, Spear Flight Chief, 15 SOS, Hurlburt Fld, FL

Jul 2007-May 2008, Chief, Group Standardization/Evaluation, 353d Special Operations Group, Kadena AB, Japan

May 2008-Feb 2009, Flight Engineer Resource Manager, 1st Special Operations Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan

Nov 2010, Operations Superintendent, 1st Special Operations Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan

Nov 2010- Aug 2013, Command Flight Engineer Evaluator and Flight Engineer Functional Manager, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Fld, FL

Aug 2013-May 2016, Superintendent, 353d Special Operations Support Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan

May 2016-Aug 2018, Command Chief, 27th Special Operations Wing, Cannon AFB, NM

Oct 2017-Aug 2018, Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Joint Special Operations Air Component-Central, Al Udeid AB, Qatar

Aug 2018-Current, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 19th Air Force, JBSA-Randolph, TX

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Legion of Merit

Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters

Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters

Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster

Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster

Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters

Air Force Recognition ribbon with one oak leaf cluster

Kosovo Campaign Medal

Afghanistan Campaign Medal

Iraq Campaign Medal

Korean Defense Service Medal

NATO Medal for Yugoslavia

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

1998, SrA John L. Levitow Award and Academic Achievement award, ALS

2005, Distinguished Graduate, NCOA

2005 USAF Gen Robert "Dutch" Huyser Flight Engineer of the Year Award

2006, 1st Special Operations Wing Non-commissioned Officer of the Year

2006, USAF SSgt Henry "Red" Erwin Outstanding Aircrew Member of the Year Award

2009, Distinguished Graduate, SNCOA

2011, Distinguished Graduate, Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy

EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION

Chief Master Sergeant 1 Dec 13